Have your say now on gambling venue policies

The Palmerston North City Council is calling for submissions as it reviews its policies on Class 4 Gambling (pokies) Venues and NZ Racing Board (TAB) Venues.

The three-yearly review is a requirement of the Gambling and Racing Acts 2003.

Public consultation on the draft policies will close on 2 March 2012 at 4pm.

Proposed changes to the gambling venue policy include: separating the current combined policy into separate policies for class 4 gambling venues (known as 'pokies'), and for NZ Racing Board venues (standalone TAB outlets). Lowering the cap on class 4 gaming machine numbers from 430 to 400. And specifying that the cap on class 4 gaming machine numbers applies to the number of machines with consent to operate rather than the number of machines currently operating.

No changes are proposed to the content of the policy on NZ Racing Board venues, other than to separate it from the current combined policy.

"With just over a week until submissions close, it's really important for people to have a say," Peter Ridge policy analyst at PNCC said. "It's always great to get as much feedback as possible when it comes to policy making,"

Copies of the draft gambling venue and submission forms are available at all Palmerston North libraries, the Customer Service Centre, or on the PNCC website at www.pncc.govt.nz. Or can be obtained by phoning the Council on 06 356 8199.